Saarbruecken, Germany - There could soon be an alternative to the classic vaccination injection, according to German scientists.
Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig (HZI) are working on a project which could allow vaccinations to be administered via a skin cream.
The “taxis,” as Claud-Michael Lehr, director of the drug delivery department at HIPS, puts it, are biologically degradable nanoparticles.
The tiny transporters attach themselves to the hair follicles and so transmit the vaccination into the body, according to him.
“The skin is not broken,” says Lehr. “Ideally in the future you could simply put on some skin cream and you would be vaccinated.”
Such creams would be significantly cheaper to produce and simpler to administer, advantages which would be especially important for developing countries.
According to Ralph von Kiedrowski, regional director of the Association of German Dermatologists in Rheinland Palatinate, it is a method which is certainly workable.
There are already vaccinations which are absorbed via the lining of the mouth, he says.
Another advantage of administering drugs via a cream would be that it could be used for people who are afraid of needles, he says.
But the nanoparticles would have to consist of substances that would not cause an unintentioned reaction by the body's immune system. And the packaging would have to be constructed in a way that the correct amount of the vaccination was used.
“It all depends on the correct dosage,” said Rolf Hoemke, spokesman for the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies in Berlin. “But it must be possible to find a way of doing that with a cream.”
There are always thoughts of developing new methods of giving vaccinations without injections, he added, and a cream would be realistic.
The cream developed by the Helmholtz researchers is still in the pre-clinical phase, meaning it has only been tested in the laboratory and on animals.
A clinical study, which would involve people, is not being planned due to a lack of sponsors, says Lehr.
He believes that traditional vaccinations using injections have various disadvantages.
“It's very laborious and expensive to produce such vaccinations and you need trained staff to administer it,” he explains.
Since the nanoparticles do not deliver enough of the vaccination to the body in order to create the desired effect on its immune system, the researchers have also funnelled so-called adjuvants through the skin via the transporters.
These chemical additives strengthen the immune response and are also used in traditional vaccines, according to Lehr.
The scientist believes that creams could also be used to treat people who suffer from allergies. - Sapa-dpa